Eugene

I’ve been in the Eugene area for three days now. Tonight I am staying at the Lost Valley Education Center, an intentional community 18 miles from Eugene. Wonderful, generous people populate this community on a huge piece of land, a former headquarters of a Christian organization. This makes it very unlike other communities I have visited, in that most of the structures have no connection with the land, and no artistic beauty, they look like they have been plucked form some dead suburb. But gardens, cob and strawbale structures, winding paths and school buses intertwine these alien structures. Tonight, after singing the Tigger song in circle, we had burgers (organic vegan) fries and a tasty salad. Earlier in the day, Diana - one of the founders - took us on an extensive tour of the land, and structures and projects. The only drawback to this day was that I was drained. I don’t know if I didn’t sleep well, or if the cut on my finger is infected, or if a week of moving, packing, sleep deprivation and emotions, are catching up with me. But this is a very peaceful place, and look forward to a serene nights sleep.
Back to the first day I arrived in Eugene; bleary eyed, sleep deprived I stumbled around some of my old haunts ( I attempted to go to Grad School here, at the U of O, but didn’t last a term), and tried to find a good place to sleep. I was actually thinking of staying in a hotel, I don’t know what insanity had come over me, but I just wanted sleep. I have friends in town, but I was too beat to deal with finding them, and being social. So I went to the vistors bureau, and asked about hotels, they reccomended a couple and them out of nowhere I asked, what about the hostel? The next thing I knew I was there, and it was closed, but just until 5 (to force guests out into the community, and let them clean). So I got coffee, checked my email, headed back, checked in and fell asleep. I woke up a few hours later. Met a girl in the kitchen that lived in a community in Arcata California. Later we were talking with some other people in the living room. There was a guy sitting there not saying anything, so I asked him a question, and that is how I met my Eco Village Guru. Ulises, lives in a Eco Village in Spain. But for two years he is teaching in LA, so he is living in the Eco Village there. We sarted talking about consensus ( he is also a consensus facilitator) and communities. He was planning on visting a couple of intentional communities in the area, and he invited me to join him. And the girl form Arcata invited me to got the hot springs with her the next day, and I invited Ulysses to join us. And that was an amazing day, of hot springs, and trees and great conversations. Julie (from Arcata) was talking about free will and perception, I felt like I was reliving Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, but from a healthier perspective. Yesterday we went to an Eco Village in Eugene. Urban gardens, and inspired cob, strawbale and wood structures. More to come...